Thistlewick Smallholding - Chickens & Sheep (for now)

[thistlewick]

Observed Cracker this morning dance for Little Peep and she squatted for him. He was gentle on her and quick. I just sang his praises and told him how proud I was of him and what a good boy he was.

He seems to be growing into his role - he is still derpy and very chill, but he's very young.

Also, this is SO CUTE TO ME since Tilly's never taught her first batch to roost. This time she brought them up at 3 weeks old!!

Nixie, Pixie and Dixie (the babies) all look to be little Cockerels as well LMAO dang it.

 

[thistlewick]

So a few updates;

We lost one of the new chicks, the Ermine one - to what, I have no idea. Just didn't come in one night. Tilly and Ginger take them off and away to all over the property during the day so there is no telling what got it. It's the first loss of a raised/hatched chick I've had. Her previous clutch is 15 weeks old Lancelot (they are all named after Arthurian characters) is already re-homed.

That reminds me, I wanted to also rehome Arthur, but I rehomed Snow instead... one of my Lollipops, because they look identical (same parents, different batches) and I am mad at myself -- Arthur is likely a boy, a hen-feathered, slow to mature boy, but yeah likely a boy and Snow was likely a pullet - who had a redder than normal comb but tiny.. it is honestly hard to tell WHAT they are.

They are both perfectly Splash, without any leakage and I was tickled to have a Splash girl. And I stupidly gave her away! UGH! I know, I can always get another Splash but it was just me being overwhelmed, we got rid of 8 at once. I was emotional.

This is one of the "Ameraucana" eggs I hatched 12 weeks ago. Not an Ameraucana, but pretty all the same.

I THINK this is a cockerel?

Here are the other two; they look LESS like a cockerel but both are LEGGY like the one above.

You can see Raven (she came out with perfect Ameraucana coloring, slate legs and all so the genes are there just not great) and Sassy the Speckled Sussex in the back. I THINK these ermines are girls but all 3 Ermines are LEGGY. So so so leggy. Also Welsey our Welsummer -- I have 3, they are all identical, and so they are all called Welsey. lol



Here below is Cracker, really looking stunning and coming into his own. I saw a younger pullet squat for him and he didn't even ask, he just walked by her. They like him!!

He is also very VERY chill around us and does not crow or flare or jump higher like Chuck always did. So crossing fingers.

Cracker is an f1 Olive Egger - so any Maran eggs would hatch very dark olive eggs from any girls.

IF ANY OF MY MARANS WERE LAYING IN THE NESTS... lol I get maybe 1 egg every other day from 3 actively laying Maran hens. Brats. They are too young to collect from for hatching anyway. Maybe next year or the year after.

I don't need more chickens! lol

Puff looking over the eggs. Whenever I put the pail down I get VERY curious girls hovering over them. lol

Puff lays a tiny cute blue egg.

This was puff:

She remains to be inquisitive, friendly and adorable and is an identical match to one of our favorites Pudding

 

[thistlewick]

Got some nice pics of some of the youngsters last night

Arthur, my hen feathered cockerel; at least, I think he's a hen feathered cockerel. He's 16 weeks old here. Compared to his brothers, he looks... ehhhh I think it's a cockerel. lol

My lovely Clara and Heidi, Silver Lakenvelders. They are attached to each other at the hip, it's adorable.

One of my "I THINK this is a pullet" Ermine Ameraucanas - she is SO LEGGY though that I have my doubts. She is 12 weeks old.

Only one of the ermine came out with Slate legs. And raven did too - so only 2 out of 8. If I wanted to breed any Ameraucanas... I think Tilly's babies are pure as well I need to take a good look at them. Anyway, I'm not sure WHAT I want to breed, if at all.

Here is Sassy our Speckled Sussex sitting prettily on the pallet. Alliteration is fun (and I didn't do it on purpose I swear.) The teens on the run edge up there have taken to hanging out way up there during the roosting harangue to alleviate themselves from any drama. Quite smart, I'd say.

Goldie, the pullet on the far left up there, came from the same batch of eggs as Raven and the Ermine (the ermines do not have names yet) because chicken genetics is freakin weird as hell.

 

[kattabelly]

Arthur, my hen feathered cockerel; at least, I think he's a hen feathered cockerel. He's 16 weeks old here. Compared to his brothers, he looks... ehhhh I think it's a cockerel. lol

It's hard to be totally sure zooming in on that photo on my phone but I think I can see some male saddle feathers there.

 

[WingItRanch]

Adorable! I agree that Arthur is a cockerel and your Ermine is a pullet. She is GORGEOUS!

 

[thistlewick]

So every evening I sit out with my chickens and just hang with them for an hour or so since they all gravitate back to the hen house for bed time.

I was doing a couple chores in the hen house, picking up some eggs, cleaning up some poops (never ending chore lol) and right as I walked out I heard an alarm call and about 5 seconds later a hawk swoops right in towards the hen house, but I didn't see it, I was just walking out the door -- and as soon as it saw me it stopped dead in the middle of it's swoop down --- have you ever seen a Cooper's Hawk stop deadass midair? It looked like it smacked against a glass window LOL

Anyway, then it flew off and away and did not come back. However, everyone hid and did the right things, they are all very very hawk savvy.

Here is the interesting thing that happened -- it caused them all to do alarm calls -- so I had like probably 10 or 15 of my 60ish chickens doing alarm calls all together at and around the hen house... what a ruckus! BUT

I heard alarm calls FROM THE HEDGE TOO.

I have chickens sleeping out in the hedge, living out in the hedge, permanently. Helga is one of them, I barely ever see her but I did clap eyes on her night before last but only for a brief minute, she does not roost in the hen house. I was specifically looking for her last night and now I am wondering who else is out there with her.

The hedge is FULL OF SPIDERS you could not pay me money to go out in there right now at NIGHT, hell no. They are just.. .gonna have to live out there.

I have mostly orb weavers, but under my well head live a collection of Black Widow spiders and so, knowing that they live so close to the hedge, I am not chancing going in there while spider activity is high.

The hedge is cool as hell honestly a perfect chicken environment, it's so thick you cannot see into it, but inside, it's like a house -- it's open and roofed with a canopy and criss crossed with limbs for roosting and perching. There is a human sized path we made inside, too. I cannot be mad some chickens have decided to stay there permanently.

I worry about them though

Only pic I got yesterday evening was of Galahad, Arthur's more obviously cockerel brother; to show just how hen-feathered Arthur actually is. Which I think is cute.

Galahad is probably 40% larger than Arthur too. They are both 16 weeks old.

I took his best friend away without realizing it, Lancelot got rehomed. So now Galahad wanders around a little bit alone and I feel bad.

Oscar is back with everyone but in his own little coop that is sitting right next to the hen house - not sure what I want to do with breeding yet, he still hasn't grown his tail... But I am wary to let him back with everyone as I don't want him bothering Spitfire the sweet little duck. She is so much happier without him harrying her now.

She visits him, she loves him, but she isn't so scared anymore and I prefer it that way.

I cannot wait til molting is over so I can deep clean the hen house!!! It is SO gross right now, so dusty and full of feathers lord.

I need to go back to just <20 chickens lol

but I love them all!